


Runs in the Family

by aliasmajik



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-03
Updated: 2013-02-03
Packaged: 2017-11-28 03:04:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/669558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aliasmajik/pseuds/aliasmajik
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some things run in the family. Some things don't. When your family is that of the famous Harry Potter, "runs in the family" starts to sound like a disease.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Runs in the Family

**Author's Note:**

> A character study of the three Potter children.

For everyone who has ever met the eldest of the Potter children, it might come as hard to believe that James was a shy, reclusive baby. He hated to help held by aught than his parents. Though he seemed to come out of his shell drastically by the time he had a baby brother and baby sister to contend with, that first year of his life was spent in a blissful little world where he was an only child and enjoyed the undivided attention of his mother and father.

Many speculated that James' tendency to throw himself at the world, screaming defiance, came from suddenly having to share his world with siblings. 

James and Albus were always destined to fight. Albus wasn't so much younger that James felt the need to protect his little brother overmuch, and they fought bitterly over everything from toys to their mother. 

Lily never had to fight for anything. Harry Potter's little princess never wanted for anything.

\- - - 

It was Ron who first started calling James "Jamie". "He doesn't look much like a Jim. And honestly, he needs something to set him apart from your dad, Harry."

Jamie stuck. Albus glowered. There was nothing so normal a nickname for Albus.

\- - -

When James' letter arrived from Hogwarts, the house turned into a war zone. Albus and Lily wailed and fought and rebelled. It was not fair that James might go while they must stay; a common enough concern in pureblood and halfblood homes that Harry admitted he'd somewhat expected it.

James went off to school that autumn, and Albus disappeared into his books without much of a word. Lily threw a temper tantrum that would last for the next three years, until she started Hogwarts herself. 

\- - - 

Hogwarts was something different for each of them. For James, it was a stage. Albus considered it something more like a prison. Lily considered it a battlefield. The infamy of their name, and their parentage, hung tightly around each of them.

James absorbed the attention like a starving man might an offered meal. He recanted, in great embellished detail, his father's battles with Voldemort, and he never ceased abusing his position as the firstborn son of the Boy-Who-Lived.

Albus tried valiantly to forget that he was Harry Potter's son, though everyone seemed to want to remind him of it. 

Lily seemed not to care who knew she was Harry Potter's daughter, but she did care who judged her for it. She bloodied more noses in her first year than her brothers combined, and she found herself in detention with alarming frequency. 

\- - - 

Quidditch ran strong in the family, as it always had. All three of them were alarmingly skilled, and joined their house teams in the first few years of school. James played Chaser, Albus played Seeker, and Lily played Beater. No one was entirely surprised on any count. 

It wasn't the only thing that ran in the family. Despite the prestige, the fame, the paparazzi, and the expectations, the things that ran most strongly always were loyalty, strength, and love.


End file.
